Columbia shuts down Timothy Christian for 1A soccer title

NORMAL, Ill. — Columbia left no doubt about its place atop the Class 1A boys soccer landscape, dominating Timothy Christian 2-0 on Saturday.

The team from just south of Belleville in suburban St. Louis claimed its first state title behind a defense that allowed semifinal opponent Herscher and Timothy Christiana combined seven shots on goal.

The Eagles (21-3-2) kept up an offensive attack throughout the second half, earning six corner kicks and cashing in on two. John Harrell, a defender with only two goals this season, scored both.

Sean Rickey adopted a "less is more" approach on the corners, using a short entry to set up Harrell at 50 minutes, 46 seconds.

"Coach is always telling me to try the short corner," Rickey said. "I finally saw there wasn't a guy at the post, I got that (ball) back and put it in there."

Rickey grounded one to Ryan Gudeman at the near post in the 69th minute. Gudeman's swift cross on the artificial turf found Harrell at the left post for a tap-in past goalie Michael Bieterman, who entered the contest with 14 minutes left when Grit chose to add starter Ben Lodewyk to his offensive attack.